Thousand-Year Tree Heart.
Zhou Yi had originally thought it was something like a Demon Core.
Yan Chixia peeled apart the tree demon's main trunk, revealing a mass of dark green liquid floating in midair as though it had no weight.
Dense wood spiritual energy continuously dispersed through the air.
"The Thousand-Year Tree Heart is like a tree demon's blood. In another several hundred or thousand years, it could transform into a wood spirit, cast off the shackles of its original body, and roam freely beneath heaven."
With a sweep of Yan Chixia's sword, the Thousand-Year Tree Heart split into two. "Refine it quickly. Once the tree demon dies, the spiritual energy within the Tree Heart will gradually dissipate."
Zhou Yi opened his mouth and swallowed it, taking it directly into his stomach.
Surging wood spiritual energy nourished his internal organs and tempered his muscles and bones.
In only a moment, the True Essence within his dantian rose by a notch. Its originally earthy yellow color now contained faint streaks of emerald green.
Obtained Wood Spirit Root (Tier 1)
"Spiritual Roots can also be acquired after birth. Sure enough, nothing in this world is absolute. The heavens always leave behind a sliver of hope!"
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and the Thousand-Year Tree Heart had been completely refined.
The spiritual energy within Zhou Yi had doubled. Moreover, when he meditated, he could absorb both earth and wood spiritual energy at once, greatly increasing his cultivation speed.
Yan Chixia had already bid Zhou Yi farewell seven days earlier and headed straight for Xiangfu to capture the Corpse Demon.
Before leaving, Zhou Yi asked Yan Chixia to look after Chen Jinyu if the opportunity arose.
"Senior Brother, I plan to enter closed-door cultivation. I don't know when I'll emerge. If anything happens to the distillery, I hope you can lend a hand."
Yan Chixia readily agreed. Instead, he praised Zhou Yi for his diligence and told him not to worry.
"I can't bear to part with Immortal's Brew. Rest assured about your sister-in-law. Other than a few old monsters from the Buddha Dao sects, no one else in this world is worth my notice!"
With that, he threw back his head and sang as he departed.
"Immortals are good, immortals are good, but immortals cannot compare to my carefree life..."
"Drink wine, sing songs, sleep soundly—who knows who is an immortal..."
Zhou Yi watched Yan Chixia's back vanish into the horizon, his eyes full of envy.
The tree demon was dead, and all matters had been settled.
Using sword qi, Zhou Yi carved out a stone cave in Black Mountain, positioned directly beneath the stone ridge formed from the Ghost King Arm.
Boom!
The entrance collapsed, and rocks sealed the cave shut.
"Return to the True Self!"
Consumed 1000 Origin, returning to the True Self!
Dusk deepened.
It was evening.
Zhou Yi suddenly opened his eyes.
A familiar white ceiling. A chandelier.
"I'm back..."
Zhou Yi shook his head. More than three years had given everything that should have been familiar an alien feeling.
He sat up and first looked at the electronic clock on the wall.
March 15th, 7:04 PM.
"The fifteenth? Only three days and one daylight period have passed!"
Zhou Yi's face was filled with disbelief. One year in the Other Self's world equaled one day in the True Self's world.
Three and a half years had passed there, yet only three days and one day had passed here.
Zhou Yi clenched his fist. He felt no strength at all; he was still an ordinary person.
"So the Gateway to Myriad Wonders can't synchronize the Other Self's power either..."
With a thought, Zhou Yi opened his status panel.
Name: Zhou Yi (True Self) Race: Human Cultivation: None Lifespan: 27/89 Origin: 3 (+1 point/day) Talent: Great Luo; Aptitude: None Techniques: Primordial Chaos Technique (Perfect); Golden Toad Technique (Perfect); Python Ape Body Refining Technique (Perfect) Spells: Sword Control Technique (Perfect); Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture (Perfect); Martial Canon (Perfect); Divine Abilities: None Equipment: None
"The technique experience hasn't disappeared. It seems the Gateway to Myriad Wonders can only synchronize memories, not directly synchronize the Other Selves across the myriad worlds. Thinking about it, that makes sense. Among the endless worlds, perhaps one of my Other Selves is a being like an immortal or demon. Wouldn't I then ascend to heaven in a single step?"
Zhou Yi did not feel discouraged. Having so many perfected techniques had already saved him a vast amount of Origin.
Besides, having experienced an Innate Realm breakthrough once, starting over would be more than ten times faster.
He turned on the television, and the news was playing.
The country was peaceful, while foreign nations were in dire straits. There was not a shred of news about any Spiritual Energy Revival.
He stared at the anchor.
For a moment, he was dazed.
Zhou Yi shook his head, dispelling the strange sense of disconnection, and unlocked his phone.
There were several missed calls from his company supervisor. Zhou Yi replied that he had resigned, then blocked the number.
There were several messages from his mother on WeChat. He casually replied, then searched for information on beasts harming people, ghosts, and the like.
There was absolutely no leaked information about beasts killing people in Jincheng.
Zhou Yi found scattered replies from netizens saying that the cats and dogs in their homes had become smarter.
Some replies were dated the year before last, some last year, and some this year.
The changes were not limited to pet cats and dogs. Some scholars claimed that Earth's environment was improving and forest coverage had risen sharply, attributing it to growing global environmental awareness.
In the past, whenever Zhou Yi saw such news, he habitually replied with a comment mocking so-called experts.
Now, it seemed Blue Star's changes had begun long ago, and signs had already appeared.
"At one point of Origin per day, judging by the pace of spiritual energy... it has been at least three years!"
Suddenly, an emergency news alert popped up.
"Jincheng will provide free medical examinations to all residents before May!"
Zhou Yi's heart stirred as he tapped it open to read the details.
Starting tomorrow and continuing until the end of May, more than a dozen designated hospitals in Jincheng would provide free medical examinations.
The coverage extended beyond Jincheng residents to include migrant workers.
The article noted that Jincheng was part of the second wave of cities offering free medical examinations to all citizens, following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
"Medical examinations..."
Zhou Yi's gaze sharpened. Standing by the window, he looked out at the brightly lit city.
"With the revival of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, famous mountains and great rivers would inevitably be affected first, followed by mountains and wildernesses, and only then cities. Spiritual energy has already been reviving for three years. There must be many ferocious beasts like the wolf demon in the wild, and perhaps even demon clans have been born!"
"Furthermore, judging by how skillfully the authorities dealt with the wolf demon, there is an eighty to ninety percent chance they have already placed famous mountains and great rivers under surveillance."
"I must seize a famous mountain or great river, but not now."
"Before recovering my cultivation, I should first find a small mountain to cultivate in."
Zhou Yi murmured, "The Gateway to Myriad Wonders is the foundation. The True Self must be extremely cautious!"
"Act with the utmost caution, guided by the utmost caution!"
Braving hardship and advancing boldly only suited the Other Self!
Early the next morning.
Zhou Yi boarded a long-distance bus back to his hometown.
He had not seen his parents for more than three years. How could he not miss them?
Qi County.
Located on the border of Southwest Province, it was Zhou Yi's hometown.
His parents both worked in a scenic area. Southwest Province had many mountains and rivers; with even a little development, any place could become a picturesque landscape.
After half a day on the road.
Zhou Yi took another taxi straight to Peach Blossom Mountain.
It was a popular scenic attraction developed by Qi County. The mountain was covered in peach trees, and it was the season when peach blossoms blanketed the hills.
Farmers had planted peach trees on Peach Blossom Mountain long ago. When the county developed tourism, it cut down all the other trees and planted peach trees everywhere.
Workers from the cultural bureau had then dug through old documents for scraps of evidence, proving that some historical figure had once visited this place and left behind a "famous" poem.
The scenic area managers were well versed in hype. They boasted that a Tang Family Scholar had once visited and left behind the famous "Peach Blossom Poem," even arguing with the leaders of a scenic area in Su Province over it.
The more the people of the two provinces argued, the more popular the nameless little mountain became. In the end, the nameless mountain was forcibly developed into a "historically famous tourist destination."
It was no longer called the nameless little mountain either. At its foot stood a twelve-foot stone stele, inscribed by a renowned provincial calligrapher.
Peach Blossom Mountain.
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